Age of Consent in American Samoa

What is the American Samoa Age of Consent?

The Age of Consent in American Samoa is 16 years old. The age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 15 or younger in American Samoa are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape or the equivalent local law.

American Samoa statutory rape law is violated when an individual has consensual sexual contact with a person under age 16.

American Samoa does not have a close-in-age exemption. Close in age exemptions, commonly known as "Romeo and Juliet laws" in the United States, are put in place to prevent the prosecution of individuals who engage in consensual sexual activity when both participants are significantly close in age to each other, and one or both partners are below the age of consent.

Because there is no close-in-age exemption in American Samoa, it is possible for two individuals both under the age of 16 who willingly engage in intercourse to both be prosecuted for statutory rape, although this is rare. Similarly, no protections are reserved for sexual relations in which one participant is a 15 year old and the second is a 16 or 17 year old.

AgeOfConsent.net is a free public resource site, and cannot offer legal advice. All information provided AS-IS with no warranty of accuracy.
If you are a victim of sexual assault or statutory rape, call the 24-hour RAINN help hotline at 800-656-HOPE